Mexico (Spanish Colonial) ca. 1618-1621 silver 8-reales of Philip III, from the São José shipwreck

Mexico (Spanish Colonial) ca. 1618-1621 silver 8-reales of Philip III, from the São José shipwreck

NGC Shipwreck Effect. Cert. #1973322-003.

Numista-14999, Krause-Mishler-44.

Ex-Michael Swoveland, dba WNC Coins, LLC, Asheville, NC, 11 May 2026.

This is a "cob" type 8-reales coin from Spanish Colonial Mexico, widely known as a "piece of eight" in pirate and shipwreck lore. It was struck at the Mexico City mint between 1618 and 1621. The "MOD" letters referred to on the slab label are the initials of Miguel de Odriozola, the assayer who oversaw production at the mint.

This treasure coin was aboard the Portuguese galleon São José, which sank in 1622 off the coast of Africa in the Mozambique Channel, while fleeing pursuing Dutch and British vessels. Below I will quote the history from the Heritage auction description of a similar coin:

"In 1622, the galleon São José rushed to Goa, India, due to reports that the British were planning on taking the strategic Hormuz island. Francisco da Gama, the great-grandson of explorer Vasco da Gama--the first European to reach India by sea--was in charge of the precious cargo which counted with thousands of silver Reales. When sailing the Mozambique channel, the fleet was attacked by Dutch and British East India Company ships, cutting the São José off and "firing more shots than in any other battle ever fought in the Indian Ocean". With many of the crew ill or deceased, the São José tried to escape--something highly unusual for the feared Portuguese naval vessels--but ended ripping its rudder on a reef. The enemy reportedly managed to pillage 66,000 Spanish Reales from the cargo, with the rest of cargo and crew sinking to the bottom of the seas. Located in 2005 by the Portuguese marine archeology company "Arqueonautas", the São José has since provided over 24,000 Silver Reales."

I acquired this piece for the equivalent of about $300 USD in trade, as part of a larger coin swap. I've been told that was a very good price, and that the coin could potentially be worth twice that much. That makes it something of a lucky pickup, since I knew relatively little about these coins going in. I just found the "shipwreck treasure" mystique interesting.



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Was on mine, too. I really wanted a gold shipwreck cob, but those are pricey.

I did finally manage to acquire a gold cob, and it’s entirely possible that it also came from a shipwreck, but if so, that provenance never got noted.